What is Glycemic Index?

Glycemic index is a balanced and realistic approach to food and weight management—that works.

The Scale

Nerd out with us for a second. The glycemic index ranks food on a scale of 0-100 based on its carbohydrate quality. The scale is broken into three segments: Low (0-55), Medium (56-69), and High (70+). As with anything in life, it’s about finding the sweet spot.

CARBS ARE GOOD!

Yeah, we said it, and we’re not taking it back. Sure, you can deprive yourself of all of a food group and maybe you’ll drop some weight. But that would be like cleaning your house and expecting it to stay clean!

You do the work, and you feel great for a while, but the dirt and clutter creep back. The kids leave their dirty fingerprints everywhere and heaven forbid your husband actually put his dirty laundry IN THE HAMPER!!! Sorry… where were we? Oh yes, the facts are the facts and 97% of people who succeed at deprivation diets gain it all back plus some.

We know it’s tempting to try any shortcut to weight loss but consider this:
Carbohydrates are one of the most important sources of energy for our bodies and are mainly found in plants (fruits, vegetables, grains & legumes) or in foods made from plant sources.

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Carbohydrates take two forms, namely starches (such as potatoes, cereals, bread, and pasta); and sugars, such as table sugar (sucrose), milk sugar (lactose), and fruit sugar (fructose). When digested, the starches and sugars in carbohydrates are broken down into millions of glucose molecules that are released into the bloodstream.

When blood glucose levels rise, your body releases a hormone called insulin, which allows glucose to enter cells. Insulin also plays a key role in fat storage: When insulin levels rise, our cells are forced to burn glucose rather than fat. Did you just have that AHA moment? It’s not about starving your body of the nutrients it needs, it’s all about the ups and downs!

Genetic material. Sugars form the structural framework of RNA and DNA (ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid).

Giving certain proteins their functionality. For example, glycoproteins are proteins with carbohydrate attached, which then allow cells to communicate with each other.

See CARBS ARE GOOD!

We know, we know! Just tell us how it works!

Notice how we said it works? The lower the GI rating, the slower the carbs in your food are digested, absorbed and metabolized. This causes a steadier rise and fall in blood sugar, helping us avoid the spikes and crashes that come with high GI foods. Those peaks and valleys are what make you feel hungry after recently eating and wandering back to that bag of chips. You know what’s in that break room vending machine? Disappointment and jammed quarters.

Your Benefits

Staying fuller longer is why SoLo is changing the diet industry. By focusing on how our food makes us feel, rather than whether or not it contains 30g of protein and 0g of sugar, we (and you) feel more satisfied and more energized, for longer.

And we’ve raised the bar too (sorry, we had to say it). By taking a holistic view of our food, rather than focusing on one specific nutrient or food group, we get to enjoy food that actually tastes delicious. That enjoyment is what makes the low GI lifestyle so great.